Pursuing Lance Stephenson this off-season

[Kizzle]

Fit wise we don't need his skillset, and Lance wouldn't fit here on our team with Jack, Waiters, and Kyrie. Trade Jack and then id think about it. I think NBA teams will stop giving out crazy contracts to Lance type players. Hes had what......2 good years on a top 3 team? Any year before this and id say "Yeah some dumb team will throw him 15 million". Not after this luxury tax and CBA stuff. I think 10 mil is the tops he'll get. Honestly because of his history 3 years is the max id give him too. Definitely if you can get a team option in there yes but I know players hate those so it wouldn't happen

 

[kovanovich]

Of course, Stephenson only makes sense if you trade Waiters, and maybe Jack too. Going after Stephenson would be part of a total makeover of the team, and would be one piece of several major moves. The thing is, the Cavs would have to overpay to entice him to sign, and likely a better team would offer similar money that would be more attractive to him anyway. So I don't think getting him is really plausible, but it's good to consider the full range of possibilities.

I think there is some concern he is a product of the system he is in, but otherwise given his age (23/24) I think he is the type of guy you want to sign to a multiyear (4 year) contract. Once he established himself last year, he was been consistent, so there's good reason to think this is the player he is and it's not a fluke.

 

[CornerThree]

There's enough cap space out there that I could see him getting a deal starting in the 12-15m range. He's an above average starter who would make most teams a lot better. I'm guessing there is also some room for his scoring to expand if he's given more of an offensive role on your team.

 

[beefstew]

The entire "this player doesn't fit with this team" argument is old, apparently our "fit" doesn't work period.

 

[billmac91]

Lance Stephenson isn't your typical player, and I think people are missing that point. This is a guy who strangled his girlfriend and likely wouldn't have been drafted if not for the Pacers vetting him out. The guy is the all time leading scorer in New York High School basketball history and his best offer at the end of the day was Cincinnati because no major players were willing to take the risk. He was cut from the under 18 US mens national team for "chemistry issues" even though he was seen as one of the best players in his class. He was charged with sexual assault in high school. He was charged with throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs before being drafted. The guy is not mentally stable, yet Indiana has kept him on the straight and narrow.

While Lance is not and never will be the face of the Pacers, the Pacers have given him a stable environment and allowed him to grow in to who he is today. That should carry a lot of weight as Lance looks at offers in the off-season. If Indiana makes an honest effort to make it work with him going forward, even at a discount to teams with huge amounts of salary cap, he'd be very wise to consider staying in the environment that has kept him out of jail and in the position he is today.

And again, Lance can sign a deal that allows him to be a free agent in 3-4 years. I think those 3-4 years of maturity are huge for him which is why if I'm his agent, I really like the idea of keeping him in the Pacer organization. The end game would be ideal here. Signing him to a max deal this off-season and putting him in a likely combustible, unstable, potentially toxic environment could prevent the next big pay-day. I'm pushing lessor dollars but the stable environment all day long.

I don't always get it right, but this was dead-on at the time. Charlotte is trying their hardest to unload him and get him out of their locker-room. From day 1 he thought they needed him to be an all-star level player and he tried to do too much. All they really wanted from Lance was for him to play his same role as in Indiana, where he differed to PG and David West in crunch-time. Charlotte has utilized Gary Neal in crunch-time as much as Lance because they don't trust his decision making, and floor spacing is an issue with him and Kemba. Lance's perimeter shooting has really taken a step back this year as well.

Lance would've been really smart to take fewer dollars on a short-term deal with Indiana. He would have gotten a near max deal at age 27 had he done that. Instead he's on a 2 year deal with Charlotte, and the entire league sees what a cancer he is. There is no way Lance gets near max level money on his next deal. So taking the money today has greatly impacted the long-term dollars he could have landed had he stayed a Pacer.

Just a really bad decision by Lance's team...

 

[macbdog]

Pretty sure the offer I the table from the Pacers was 4 years, not 2, and he took the Hornets offer precisely because it would get him to unrestricted FA faster. I'm not sure the Pacers were all that interested in a one year deal with him.

 

[billmac91]

Pretty sure the offer I the table from the Pacers was 4 years, not 2, and he took the Hornets offer precisely because it would get him to unrestricted FA faster. I'm not sure the Pacers were all that interested in a one year deal with him.

He didn't even negotiate with Indiana. At 24, if he takes 3 year deal he's a FA at age 27 in the prime of his career. Now he becomes a FA at 26, and he'll be lucky to get $8M a year if that...

Guy is such a head-case and he killed his next contract opportunity....would've been smarter to stay in a more stable environment with Indiana and Frank Vogel.

 

[gratefuldead]

Team cancer

 

[Kizzle]

Looks like CHA already seriously shopping him. If they want to rebuild completely im sure Lance, Jefferson, and Biyombo nets them a fairly good package. But if they are just trying to scapegoat Lance, then idk, who could possibly want him knowing that hes already thinking about FA

 

[DatDudeZ3]

Wouldn't touch him w/ a 10 foot pole, especially with all the ball dominant players we have on this team.

 

[Simon]

Looks like CHA already seriously shopping him. If they want to rebuild completely im sure Lance, Jefferson, and Biyombo nets them a fairly good package. But if they are just trying to scapegoat Lance, then idk, who could possibly want him knowing that hes already thinking about FA

They don't want to fully rebuild. Lance is the only player they are shopping hard.

Kemba and Jefferson are off limits, but willing to trade everyone else.

 

[gratefuldead]

I dont know how another reclamation project would go

Haywood contract?

We need to get lucky w that trade

 

[spydy13]

As much as I know this guy can ball in the right situation, I don't think this happens. We already saw that LeBron couldn't get through to Dion and I think Lance is a very similar type of player.

 

[luffyq1]

God no.

 

[Zog]

Why is this even a discussion this year? There is no need for him. JR and Shumpert fill the role much better and Lance has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. And it's one of two positions (SG and PF) we already have great depth at. Re-sign JR and Shumpert and use the Haywood contract to add depth to the center and/or SF position.